Standards for Education of Teachers of Science: Assessment

The program prepares candidates to use a variety of contemporary assessment strategies to evaluate the intellectual, social, and personal development of the learner in all aspects of science. Assessment refers to:

• Alignment of goals, instruction and outcomes.
• Measurement and evaluation of student learning in a variety of dimensions.
• Use of outcome data to guide and change instruction.

8.1 Examples of Indicators
 

8.2 Rationale and Discussion

Many efforts are currently underway to develop methods to authentically assess the knowledge and skills of students. Paper and pencil testing has been and continues to be the dominant mode of assessing the outcomes of formal education, and acquisition of content is often the dominant goal. However, most educators acknowledge that written tests assess only a very limited range of student abilities and may restrict the ability of capable students to express themselves in other mediums. Critics have noted that grades, in and of themselves, provide no evidence of what has been taught, what has been gained, or how well it has been measured.

The National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1995) give the topic of assessment considerable attention, an emphasis that highlights the importance of assessment to science teachers, who are called upon to evaluate diverse skills. Contemporary teachers must feel confident in using authentic assessment it to measure achievement of science standards and benchmarks (Project 2061, 1997).

Assessment is not a punitive action. Its purpose is not to catch and punish students who have not learned. Instead, assessment is a process of learning by both the teacher and the student. Good assessment strategies help students learn about their strengths and weaknesses, building upon the former and remedying the latter. Assessment has failed when it results only in a sense of failure or incompetence for sincere students. A wise observer once remarked that many students leave school with more of a sense of what they cannot do than what they can. Reflective teachers help their students identify and celebrate their achievements. As Webb (1997) notes, we must measure what we claim to value as student skills, including the ability to contribute productively as members of a society.

Central to the process of authentic assessment is the concept of alignment. Alignment refers to consistency between goals, actions and assessments. Is instruction likely to lead to attainment of the identified goals? If so, is the chosen manner of assessment valid? Does it really measure what it purports to measure? Assessment may be invalid when it (a) does not address the content in the assessment; (b) does not align the assessment with the goal--even if it aligns with instruction, or (c) does not align assessment with the way instruction takes place e.g., a multiple choice test used to assess learning that has taken place using higher level analysis and reasoning skills. Problems with alignment are common. New teachers must learn how to design instruction and assessments that are consistent with multiple goals, not just those aimed at content acquisition.

In a climate of positive assessment, learners and their teachers look for evidence to document growth and for new ways to show what students can do. Diagnostic, formative and summative assessment strategies are woven throughout instruction as a natural part of the classroom activities. Portfolios are often used to collect evidence of growth and change. Multiple assessment methods including videotapes, demonstrations, practicum observations, discussions, reports, simulations, exhibitions and many other outcomes are useful alternatives to the traditional written test. Peer assessment in cooperative learning groups is especially useful for demonstrating skills using laboratory equipment, and for evaluating process skills such as the creation and interpretation of graphs. Computer-based testing can help students diagnose their own abilities while placing fewer demands on teacher time.

Authentic assessment has become an important part of educational reform. It is ". . . assessment that mirrors and measures students' performances in 'real-life' tasks and situations" (Hart, 1995, p, 106). Beginning teachers of science show competence developing and using both authentic and traditional, assessment strategies. Darling-Hammond, Ancess and Falk (1995) describe five schools in which curriculum-embedded assessment is part of the regular instructional program. Through the use student projects with final summary reports, portfolios with rubrics for identifying standards of student performance, evaluations by outside experts, and a steady flow of feedback to learners, each of these schools provides students and parents with information marking progress toward learning goals. Roth (1995) provides additional descriptions of authentic school science and its practice.

Involving students in designing the rubrics that will be used to assess their work is often effective. Anderson and Page (1996) provide examples of how this can be done. The preparation of teachers should include opportunities for them to take part in designing and defending rubrics for their own reflective self-assessment. Reflective teachers continually seek evidence for their own success in helping their students achieve learning objectives. They may use audio and video recordings to examine their performance and often invite peers, and supervisors to observe them and make suggestions for improving their practices. They frequently construct professional portfolios with artifacts and reflective commentary, recording their perceptions of their success and failure as a teacher. Reflective teachers encourage constructive evaluations of instruction by their students.

Professional teachers accept responsibility for judging the relative success of activities they design (NBPTS, 1996). They monitor the successes and failures of both individuals and classes. Such teachers use information about how students are doing "on average" to analyze the success of their instructional strategies. They know how to align instructional practices and materials with outcomes as measured on carefully selected assessment instruments (Webb, 1997).

8.3 Recommendations of the National Science Teachers Association

The need for assessments that measure more than one dimension of learning are as necessary at the college and university level as they at precollege levels. Institutions should expand the range of assessments used in university courses, encouraging university instructors to adopt goals beyond the mere transmission of information. Science and education courses in the teacher education program should model the authentic assessments recommended by national standards projects, including the National Science Education Standards. Preservice candidates should be assessed using multiple indicators, and these assessments should be used, in part, to assess the science teacher education program itself. Teacher education programs should engage students in regular self-assessment and should help them develop a workable self-assessment system for use during student teaching and the first years of practice. They should introduce prospective science teachers to a broad array of assessment techniques and develop standards for good practice against which they can assess their work.

NSTA recommends the development of a culture that does not perceive assessment as an endpoint in a linear program of instruction, but perceives it as a constant process of learning for self-improvement. Quality education is based upon the premise that assessment should take place at many points in the educational process, instead of at the end of the process.

The best teacher education programs engage students in learning and use of a broad range of assessments aligned with the goals and experiences they provide. They use the extensive assessment standards from the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1995) as a baseline for development. Such programs model good assessment throughout their programs and develop and employ systems to ensure the competency of their graduates. They prepare prospective teachers not only to assess and evaluate their students, but to engage as well in regular self-assessment and use the results to guide their practices.

8.4 References

Andersen, H. 0. & Page, S. (1996). Performance rubrics. Hoosier Science Teacher, 21(4), 115-118.

Brewer, M. (1996). Tools for alternative assessment. Hoosier Science Teacher, 21(3), 91-96.

Cannon, J. R. (1996). Extra credit, extra science. Science and Children, 34(l), 38-40.

Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., & Falk, B. (1995). Authentic assessment in action: Studies of schools and students at work. New York: Teachers College Press.

Duckworth, E. (I 987). The having of wonderful ideas and other essays. New York NY: Teachers College Press.

Hart, D. (1994). Authentic assessment: A handbook for educators. Menlo Park CA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

Haury, D. L. (1993). Assessing student performance in science. ERIC/CSMEE Digest, EDO-SE-93-8, 1-2.

Kulm, G. & Malcom, S. M. (Eds.) (1991). Science assessment in the service of reform. Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (1996). Proposition #3: Teachers responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. Washington DC: Author.

National Research Council. (1995). National science education standards. Washington DC: Author.

Project 2061. (1997). The science curriculum: Evaluating what and how we teach. 2061 Today, 7(l), 1-2.

Roth, W. M. (1995). Authentic school science: Knowing and learning in open-inquiry science laboratories. Boston MA: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Schon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Webb, N. L. (1997). Determining alignment of expectations and assessments in mathematics and science education. National Institute for Science Education Brief, 1(2), 1-8.